Blogs from Annapurna Circuit, Annapurna, Nepal, Asia

Today we had a late start at 08:00. Original plan was to go to the Kagbeni Monastery before breakfast but Sudarshan decided we should eat first. So we all had fried eggs on toast and it was probably the best we’ve had on this trip. Food at Hotel Buddha was amongst the best we’ve had. After breakfast, Sudarshan gave us an option to visit the Muktinah Temple by horse-back which we thought would be a novel way plus I thought I would be a good test my bad knee on the steep walk back towards the town. We left around 09:00 and all enjoyed the ride up which took about 10 minutes. You cannot ride a horse back in any case, which I am hoping is a way to give the horses a break before taking ... read more

Left Yak Kharka at 08:00 and started with a fairly steep climb. Every morning when we start my legs already feel tired but as we progress they start to warm up and I get into rhythm. Krissy still wasn’t feeling the best and we were all concerned for her but she told us she could go on slowly and that’s exactly what we did. Our first rest stop after crossing a long bridge was at 09:20 at Dhading Laxmi Hotel. After a short break the trail leveled out somewhat and we stopped again for a tea break at 10:10 before we started downhill to a wooden bridge at 11:10. We then had a strenuous 20 minute climb up a very steep trail and had our third rest stop at Deurali Tea House at around 11:30. We ... read more

This morning we woke to glorious blue skies and amazing views of Annapurna 2 and the Annapurna range. The original plan which was also on our itinerary had us taking the lower road to our next stop, Manang, but I had read that the upper road offers much nicer views of the mountains. As the weather last night was so bad we had agreed to take the easier low road, but with the weather so clear now we all agreed to take the longer, higher and more scenic route. We also decided that we would do that and not do the Ice Lake trek tomorrow which would be another long 8 hour return hike. This would increase our hiking time from 6 to 9 hours plus in meant ascending to 3,800m before descending to Manang at ... read more

This morning we had breakfast at 07:00 and this enabled us to leave earlier than previous days, at 08:00. Besides Sudarshan, our guide, we have three porters, Ganesh, Sujan and Suman. As soon as you leave Besisahar the road condition is considerably worse and very bumpy but still follows the Marsyangdi River . However the scenery just continued getting better and better as we drove further into the mountains gradually getting to higher altitudes. The first stop of the day was at a checkpoint for the Annapurna Conservation Area. Here we also saw a group of British cyclists who are cycling the Annapurna Circuit. As we drove up the first big unsealed road I couldn’t help but remember my own cycling trip in Yunnan under similar conditions. I was more than happy this time to be ... read more

After just over an hour and a half in the jeep travelling from Pokhara to the drop off point in Nayapul, we had finally reached our destination and I was now facing the reality of spending the next 4 days with my girlfriend and sister at the mercy of the Himalayas, a daunting prospect in itself, let alone at the bottom of a 3000m peak! As we had typically left sorting our permits and TIMS until the very last minute, a lesson we had still not learned despite several prior hiccups, we didn't arrive in Nayapul until 12:45 and all agreed that it would be better to eat at one of the local restaurants at the beginning of the trek as opposed to going hungry and hoping we'd stumble upon something further down the way. Along ... read more